Mizzou Links, 8-6-14: Maty Mauk aims for 70, Jimmie Hunt hits nine

Today's post is brought to you by the number 51.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Aug 6, 2014, 5:18am CDT

What's On

Can I interest you in a new SEC Storied trailer?

What about, per the PowerMizzou message boards, the 1998 Insight.com Bowl in three parts? Yes?

Football

Once again, a Practice Reports post will go up in a bit.

Maty
The Missourian: Missouri football's Maty Mauk hungry for improvement

"The thing I'm looking at is (the) 51 percent completion rate," Mauk said Tuesday after practice.

"Yeah, we went deep a lot, but we got to fix that."

Sure, not all of Mauk's deep balls were caught. And maybe his tendency to run, something Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Henson described as Mauk's "special ability," compensated for some errant passes, as well.

But Mauk knows when people think of accurate quarterbacks, a 60 percent completion rate is a must. Even so, Mauk is thinking of even better numbers for this season.

"I want to shoot for the 70, 75 (percent) range," Mauk said. "That's a high level. You don't lose very many games doing that."

Receivers
The Trib: MU undergoes receiving overhaul

Hunt said he dropped about 15 pounds after last year — weight he put on after ankle surgery in the offseason — and is carrying around the 205 pounds he played with as a sophomore in 2012, when he averaged 18.1 yards on 11 receptions.

He estimates his speed was at about a six out of 10 last year.

This year he’s at a nine, pushing 10. [...]

The Tigers will need a number of players to step into new roles in a group that features just three wideouts — seniors Hunt, Bud Sasser and Darius White — that have ever caught a pass in a college game.

"There’s guys that can play, still, in this depth, and more guys that people haven’t seen yet," said Sasser, the team’s leading returning receiver at 26 catches for 361 yards. "We’re counting on those guys to step it up, they’re counting on us to step our game up and we all realize that. We’re not ashamed to admit that. That’s fine with us. We’re not scared of pressure."

Ricker
Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's Ricker gets crash course in coaching O-line

"I spent five years of my life here," Ricker said after Tuesday’s practice, MU’s second workout of the preseason. "Not that I owe anything, but I owe myself. I told my wife and my whole family, if this opportunity ever arose I was going to take it. Every year I saw Coach Pinkel (and said), ‘Hey, I want to come back and coach for you.’ " [...]

When the job offer came, Ricker couldn’t resist. An All-Big 12 center for the Tigers and and two-time team captain, Ricker started every game from 2000-03. Even when Illinois coach Tim Beckman countered Mizzou’s offer with a bigger salary, Ricker’s bags were packed.

"At the end of the day," Ricker said, "I told him, ‘This ain’t about money for me. It’s really not. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.’ I told him, ‘Coach, I appreciate everything about (the salary offer), but I’m going back to where I played. I have a lot invested in this university.’"

Basketball

It's apparently time for 2015 recruits to schedule official visits. Quite a few big names have popped up in the last day or so.

It's set! Official visits: Sept 5th-7th Marquette Sept 13th-15th Illinois Sept 19th-21st SMU Oct 10th-12th Arkansas Oct 25th-27th Mizzou
— Swagy_J (@JimmyWhitt33) August 5, 2014

Top 10 PF/C Thomas Bryant will take official to Missouri on October 11, 2014
— Huntington Prep (@HuntingtonPrep) August 5, 2014

‘15 Huntington Prep (WV) C Thomas Bryant will visit Mizzou weekend of October 10. He is ranked #34 in 2015 Rivals150. pic.twitter.com/gTmSlE9We6
— Brian Austin (@btaustin) August 5, 2014

6-10 forward Thomas Bryant, visiting Mizzou Oct. 11, is rated 2015's No. 10 player by ESPN, 5 stars; Rivals: 4 stars, rated No. 34
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) August 5, 2014

’15 Waynesville (MO) PF Juwan Morgan (@juwanmorgan23) down to 7 schools. Indiana, Washington, Vandy, Creighton, Mizzou, Stanford & Kansas.
— Brian Austin (@btaustin) August 5, 2014